1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical outlet enclosures and more particularly to a housing arrangement which mates about such an electrical outlet to ensure control of an electrical plug with respect to the electrical outlet, and is based upon Provisional Application No. 61/960,927, filed Sep. 28, 2013, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
2. Discussion of the Art
In many industries it is often necessary to electrically lock out machinery during times of nonuse of that machinery or during its servicing. This is typically accomplished by encasing the plug in a closable plastic casing with a padlock receiving arrangement. A padlock or padlock hasp containing openings for a number of padlocks is then utilized to secure and prevent the plug from being accessed. Some problems with this approach include where an encased plug with a number of padlocks attached may be left lying on the floor and constitute a trip hazard, or an electrical cord may be displaced from its normal routing path, or the occasional theft of the expensive casing and a still exposed electrical outlet that may permit unauthorized use of an electrical device in the vicinity of the machine locked out, which was powered down as a safety procedure. There are also instances where it is desirable to lock out a single receptacle rather than locking a circuit breaker that may control more than one receptacle and thereby unnecessarily powering down other equipment that is in use on the same circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,193,447, issued on 5 Jun. 2012, and incorporated herein by reference, partially addressed these problems by providing a means to lock a plug in an enclosure attached to a receiving plate which plate was secured to electrical receptacle recessed in a wall. The wall surface itself provided a means for stabilizing the entire enclosure assembly.
However there are many instances in commercial or industrial settings where electrical receptacles, especially large ones typically utilized in high-voltage applications, are mounted in metallic “handy-boxes”, junction boxes, or other type of enclosures that are not flush with a wall surface. These enclosures mount externally on walls and beans next to machinery and sometimes they are hanging on cords from an overhead. Unlike flush mount type receptacles such as those utilized in residential settings and addressed in the aforementioned '447 patent, these handy-box enclosures do not have a means of securely attaching a cover receiving plate. This is due to the lack of a flat wall surface planar to the receptacle for stabilization of a receiving plate.
Most of these handy-boxes have metallic covers that are attached with two diagonally opposed screws to the metallic enclosure box. A standard receiving plate as used in the prior '447 patent recited hereinabove does not attached securely or flatly to either the metallic cover or an enclosure box.
It is thus an object of the present invention, to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a safety lockout arrangement which is utilizable for a variety of junction box and cover arrangements.
It is yet another object of the present invention to permit an arrangement where plugs are locked out of the receptacle while maintaining the normal routing path for the electrical cord.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to permit the receptacle to be locked out, eliminating any accidental secondary use of the electrical outlet while machinery servicing is being performed.
It is yet another object of the present invention to minimize the obstruction and trip hazard of electrical cords lying on the floor with one or more padlocks hanging off of the enclosure.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide immediate and positive visual confirmation that a receptacle is locked out, without having to rely on a remotely located circuit breaker which may itself be incorrectly locked out.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an enclosure protective cover which may be clear, to permit visual verification of plug status.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a protective cover which is unusable by itself, thus minimizing the chance of theft.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a universal receiving plate or frame member which can accommodate cover apparatus of nearly any configuration.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a blanking type cover which may be used to prevent contamination and also prevent access to an electrical outlet or to prevent access to control buttons or switches thereadjacent.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cover which permits plugs to be securely disconnected and contained in a known position off of the floor during a wash-down treatment rather than leaving that plug lie on the floor and possibly becoming filled/compromised with a liquid.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a cover which has internal interference features to prevent the cover from being utilized as a lock in device for live plugs.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a cover arrangement which may be utilized with adapter plates to fit hanging pendant type or other type of electrical boxes which do not otherwise include an independent cover plate.